M&J Kay

Pepe le pew

2012-02-10T13:09:00.003-07:00

From the title and picture you may all see where this is going, but here it is anyways. Last Sunday night Archimedes started whining, he whined and whined and whined and we had no idea why. We checked on him a few times and everything was fine but he would not shut up. So out of frustration at about 3:30AM Marshall went and let him outside. About 15 minutes later Marshall let him back in and this NASTY smell started circulating our house. Marshall brought Brynlee up to me to see if I though she smelled like she got sprayed like a skunk and it stunk so bad I thought for sure she did until I went down to check if Archy smelled too and I only got about 3 steps in the family room and my nose started burning. I immediately put him in the garage while we figured out what to do. Marsh read online that we need to create a chemistry lab and bath him in peroxide, baking soda and dish soap. Easy enough, as long as you have all three of those ingredients. And of course, we had about an inch of peroxide so that was not going to cut it. Marsh couldn't drive so we got in the car and headed to Harmons, which doesn't open until 6 so we started trying the gas stations. Maverick had it, we paid $2 for 8 oz of which we needed 32oz and of course that gas station only had 2 bottles. Long story short, after we finally got peroxide we went home and Marsh washed the dog and I started looking up what time pet stores opened so we could get him properly bathed with de-skunking shampoo. At this point we were super tired, super pissed and super frustrated. The pet store didn't open until 9 so instead of having Archy freeze in the garage we put him in the basement. Well, he didn't like that and instantly started whining and barking. He did it consistently for 3 hours and we were about to pull our hair out! Marsh was calling every pet store within a 100 mile radius trying to find one that could take him first thing. With the dog whining, us on little to no sleep and our house freezing because we were trying to air out the worst smell in the world, Marshall finally had it and he went down stairs to shut the dog up. In his frustrated haze he accidentally fell down the stairs and in lou of trying to save his foot he laded on his left hand and he said he heard a crack. We laid there regrouping and just taking some deep breaths and then got up stairs and continued to call pet stores, apparently Sunday is bath your dog day and everyone was booked. We finally got Petco to take him at 9 and we took him the second they opened. When we got home I dozed off on the couch and when I woke up I found Marshall dead asleep in the recliner and Brynlee dead asleep in the middle of the floor, sprawled out like she was dead. It was a rough morning to say the least.

Back to Marshall's hand. So, Marshall has been riding one of those wheeled scooter things that you rest your leg on and push with your other leg and apparently it is pretty touchy because he keeps taking spills. Well, he took a spill that broke the cast on his foot and the only time they could fit him in to get a new one was the time he had schedule for the x-ray of his hand. It is kind of hard to see the crack in his x-ray but it is a triangle and you can sort of see one side of it just above his knuckle.

So now the guy has to deal with a broken cast on his foot for another 5 days until he has a follow up appt. and the doc it going to put him in a walking boot. The results from the x-ray showed that he broke the crap of his hand right about his ring finger. So now he has a bandagey cast thing on his right foot and a bright green hard cast on his left hand. He is falling apart.

Marshy is very very broken

2012-02-09T12:53:00.000-07:00

Back in July of 2011 Marshall fell off a climbing wall (with no harness) and landed directly on his right foot. We immediately got it x-rayed and the doctor said nothing was wrong. After months of his foot still hurting Marsh started to get really frustrated and decided to go to a different doctor. This doctor told him that he needed to go to physical therapy. So after two months of that and no results Marsh was starting to get pissed. He went back to the doctor and demanded he get an MRI. Well, it is a good thing he did. His ankle was MESSED up and required surgery. So a few weeks ago I took Marsh to the hospital and the doctor said it would be about a 2 hour surgery with a 1 hour recovery, this was at 1PM. So at about 6:30, when I hadn't heard anything I started to get seriously worried. It was at the Surgical center in the Avenues in SLC so it is a smaller facility and everyone had gone home besides the doctors working on him and the nurse and I didn't know where they were so I just waited... waited... waited...waited. At about 7 thedoctorcame in and said he could not believe how bad it was and once he got in there it just kept gettingworse. I finally got to go back and help Marsh with recovery and he did not come out of the anistesia very well. He was throwing up the entire hour he was there, he threw up on the car ride home and he sat in the drive way for another 20 minutes throwing up when we got home. Poor guy. He has been wrapped up with instruction to put NO weight on it for 2 weeks. But don't worry, he has had a great nurse.

We are HERE!!

2011-12-08T08:56:00.002-07:00

Wow. Why has it been so long since I have posted? Probably because I can’t do it from work anymore ;o) Anyways… I guess I should take a minute and get everyone up to date. One disclaimer that I would like to make is that Marshall and I just got a new computer and I have been using a PC my entire life and Marshall talked me into an iMac so to avoid me throwing it out the window it may be a while until I post again because it is going to take a while for me to get the hang of things.

Marshall’s summer project.

While I was studying, Marshall found a project to keep him busy. This is the left side of our house BEFORE:

AFTER:

We moved the fence up about 30 feet to add more room to our backyard, built a retaining wall flush with our neighbors yard, added rocks and a few plants out front and bod a bing bod a boom!

Addition to the family #1.
Long story short. While in college, Marshall’s roommates got a dog. Marshall’s roommates moved out and left the dog. Chris adopted and cared for the dog with Marshall’s help. Chris moved to NY. Chris’ parents adopted and cared for the dog with Marshall’s help. Chris’ parents adopted a new dog. Chris’ and Marshall’s love child dog came to live with us.Why hasn’t this happened before? Well, you see, I am NOT a dog person. Especially not a dog that lives in the house. Ever since we have been married Marshall has wanted his college dog (Archimedes) to come live with us. When we were in the apartment it was not a problem because they didn’t allow dogs and Marshall knew it was not smart to keep him cooped up all day and in an itty bitty apartment. Well, since the day we started looking into buying a house the topic of Archimedes coming to live with us has come up once or twice (a week). I have been trying to get myself prepared and let the dog join our family and stop acting the part of the wicked witch of the west and to be honest I was not ready when he finally came but I will be the first one to admit that I was WRONG about dogs living in the house. It has been a total joy with him! He is amazingly well behaved, I feel safer when I am alone and it has made some amazing changes in Marshall. The only thing that bothers me is the shedding but since Marshall knows this was a huge sacrifice for me he is totally on top of the hair business. He vacuums at least twice a week, the dog is not allowed upstairs or on the couch, and he dusts the furniture items that may collect the hair. It has made things a lot easier for me to say the least.

And there is more...

Addition to the family #2.

Well, things with Archimedes had been going so well (1 week in) and I thought… well, the poor little guy is left home alone all day and having a dog inside has been nothing like I thought it would be, why not get him a little friend? So I started looking… I have always loved Yorkies but never though I would get one because they have to be house dogs and I never thought I would have dogs in my house. Since that was no longer an issue… we got this little delight!Brynlee Kay

The minute we saw Bryn we both knew she was coming home with us. We did however resist the temptation and go home and really put some thought into it but you can all see the outcome.
It has been so much fun! She is super smart and catches onto things pretty quick, especially for being only 13 weeks old. We got her when she was 6 weeks and she would fit in one hand, and she loved sleeping there ;o) she has more than doubled in size and also in personality. She has been a TON of work but Marshall and I came together and have been getting through it with minimal stress. Even though sometimes she drives me a little nutty I do not regret bringing her into our family for one second. We absolutely LOVE our new life.

Unfortunately, Archimedes, wanted NOTHING to do with Brynlee. He growled at the very sight of her. A side we had never seen of him before and we were quite worried. But a revelation happened a few weeks ago…Brynlee was getting a drink, when Archimedes came over she moved, let him drink, then she finished her drink when he was done. And since that moment they have been getting along MUCH better. And now, almost 2 months later, they are the BEST of friends...

Yeah, so big changes. We went from being a little family of 2 to a family of 4 in 2 weeks! Good times. And I could not help posting this picture...

Halloween.
Simply put. This lasted for the length of the picture.

One last disclaimer... I know small dogs have a stereo type attached to them and pictures of her in a sweater don't help that but she has hair, not fur so she gets really cold and if it is super cold outside she won't go out to go to the bathroom but the sweaters take care of that problem so don't judge the sweaters man, you would wear one too if you had to go outside to go potty!

Repelling

2011-08-12T13:04:00.002-06:00

While Chris and Ashley were in town we decided it would be a good and much needed break for me to get out and do something that would take my mind off of studying. And what better way than to repell down a waterfall.Looking downGetting instructions from Chris. As you can see, I am listening very attentivly. Marshall starting us offHere I go...You can hardly see me but I am there at the top

Unfortunatly I don't have any pictures of Chris & Ashley but they rocked out too. It was so much fun and after the first time going down and getting the initial scare out of ya you just want to do it over and over. It was a great release.

Reply Letter

2011-08-08T12:39:00.006-06:00

Dear Jennifer,

We are concerned about you. Where have you been for the past 7 weeks. We haven't heard from you or seen you and we are genually worried.

Sincerely,
Your concerned friends and family

Dearest concerned friends & family,

I deeply appologize for the dissappearing act. I am in fact alive and have not run into any sort of trouble over the past 7 weeks. This is what I have been doing...

STUDYING! For the new job I had to get my Series 7 & Series 63 licenses so they were kind enough to provide the above material in exchange for my LIFE.

I lost 8lbs over the past 2 weeks (test time) due to the fact that I couldn't sleep and night nor did I have ANY kind of appetite because I was so sick to my stomach all the time because if I didn't get these licenses I would no longer be employeed...no pressure, and Iwent through 2 ENTIRE notebooks full of paper.

But ALAS, I took my last test this morning and now I am back and ready to resume life. If I can remember how.

Sincerely,

Your haggard, tired, exhaused friend & family member Jennifer

Updates, getting robbed, Corporate America, our new hobby & a little trip

2011-05-15T11:19:00.014-06:00

So, it has been a while and boy has a lot happened. I am going to do five posts in one so here it goes.

First of all - Updates...

We have been doing a ton to our house lately but these are a few of the things I have pictures of so I will post more later.

One of the biggest things that I wanted to do was replace the carpet. I saw this special on 20/20 once and ever since carpet really weirds me out, especially living on carpet that was somebody elses. You see a stain and have no idea what it is, how it happened or where else more are that may be hidden. EWE. Even before we moved in I told Marshall I wanted new carpet even though the old carpet really was not it that bad of shape.

BEFORE:I don't know who's bright idea it was to have like a cream carpet but I found it to be pretty stupid. Especially since this is the highest traffic area of the house because the garage door is to the right of those 4 stairs. So we did away with it and while we were at it, we added some tile in front of the back doors because it doesn't make much sense to have carpet their either.
AFTER:
We also added a super thick cosheny pad to our family room so it is way cozy. We LOVE it! For the stairs we got the short carpet because the shag just wears so quickly on stairs and looks terrible.

Next, we added a tile a back splash. That came out quite nicely I might add.
BEFORE:AFTER:
SECOND POST - Getting Robbed:

Yes, I got robbed. Our garage door was left open for all of 45 minutes on day and some little punk decided to help themselves to all of the electronics in my car. 2 iPods, our GPS and my folder. The kicker is that I have been working on compiling a list of all of our accounts for Marshall in case something happens to me, well, yeah, it was in that folder. It had all of our accounts and the log in and password for each.

As soon as I realized my folder was missing I got online and on the phone changing our passwords as fast as I could but I was not fast enough. As I was changing things I got an email that said my transaction was completed from PayPal. As if my all my stuff wasn't enough they tried to transfer money from my paypal to theirs. Luckily I got onto PayPal as soon as I received the email and canceled the transaction. Then the next day I got an email from our bank saying that our password was locked for too many incorrect attempts.

What a nightmare! We took fliers to our neighbors warning them that there was a thief among us but we don't anticipate anything will happen and we will most likely never find out who it was or get out stuff back. LAME!

THIRD POST - Corporate America:

I am super excited because I finally made the next step in my life and got a job in my career field. As overwhelming as it has been studying for the Series 7 exam I am really looking forward to being part of Corporate America and beginning the next phase of life. I have every intention of climbing this ladder and achieving great success in the financial world. I actually got offered the job at the end of February but my old employer and I worked out a deal for me to stay through tax season because it is their busiest time of year and when I told them I was leaving I think a few of them wanted to cry. I left on great terms and they made it really hard for me because they were a great company to work for the past 5 and a half years. But since I waited so long to switch jobs it didn't really hit me until the last day, it was way weird, sad, happy and seriously weird...

Anywho... So I have been waiting 2 months to get started at my new job and this past Monday that first day came. It feels so right. It is pretty serious stuff so I am in training for 5 weeks then I move onto training for another 5 weeks for a doosey of test that I have to take at the end of August. I have started studying and it is a TON of material. Good thing this is not my first rodeo.

FORTH POST - Our new hobby

Marsh and I love to do things together but it is sometimes hard because he thinks I am an Olympian and can do things on his level. Well, he is wrong. But we finally found something that we can do together and that we both enjoy and if I am a little slower than him it doesn't really matter.

We picked me up a new full suspension Mountain Bike and wasted no time putting it to use. We headed out to Antelope Island a few weeks ago for a little adventure. I though we would be taking a nice ride around the island but instead we took a hell of a ride UP the island. All in all we had a good time and I didn't puke like I though I was going to the entire time so that is good. I cannot wait for it to stop raining so we can go all over and play with my new toy!
And last but not least - A little trip

Well, somehow, I have no clue how, but it just so happened that I had a week off between my old job and starting my new job... weird how that happened since I am the one that picked both of the dates... Anyways, we all know that I am not good at sitting around and I figured what better time to go on a little adventure, especially since I don't know when the next one will be.

So, the minute my friend Gabby heard I had a week off she had the same thought I did and she has been begging me to go on a trip for the past 5 years but I just never had the time and well, now, I had the time. So we decided to go on a cruise to the Bahamas. We visited 2 of the islands, Nassau and Freeport and it was friggin' amazing! Especially since when I left Utah it was snowing, ha ha ha.

Atlantis in Nassau
The flamingos just hang out at this little park/zoo thing and although I was a little apprehensive because they are a pretty big bird and I though they might flock at me and peck me to death, I went against my greater judgment and jumped in with them for a little picture.
The government building of the Bahamas
Our ship

We took a jeep tour of the island of Freeport and it was beautiful. We stopped at a little cove and saw dolphins jumping in the ocean. It was breathtaking.

Some little shops in Freeport
One of the coolest parts about the Bahamas is that any beach you go to, the minute you step on the sand a guy comes up to you and tells you he is your "beach assistant" anything you need he is at your beckon call, I don't see one down side to that.

Just because I don't post doesn't mean I haven't been as busy as ever with things to post about. I will try and keep up a little better in the future ;o)

Marshall must be feeling blue...

2011-04-13T15:34:00.003-06:00

He must be feeling BLUE POWERADE!!! This guy goes nUtS when it is on sale.
The last time it went on sale last year we bought 5 cases and stacked them on our deck. When we moved we had to move 2 of the cases... not cool. This year we got over 100 BLUE Powerades. Only blue.

Did I grow up under a RoCk???

2011-04-07T11:20:00.005-06:00

Back in December when our bestest buddy Chuck-diggs was in town he decided to make us a tasty snack one night. I was hesitant to try it because the only other time I had seen someone eat one was my old roommate and quite honestly it did not look very appetizing. But good ol' Chuckie talked me into it and I tried my first Artichoke.I really really liked it and we ended up making another one right after we devoured the first one. Now, I have not made a habit of eating them simply because the trick that makes them so delicious is dipping them in melted butter and I am just not into eating a lot of butter let alone drenching something in it.

Well, the other day Marshall and I were watching The Amazing Race and they were in China and they were talking about how that is were we get most of our mango's. It was then that I realized that I have never had a mango. Weird. So when we were at the grocery store the other day I decided to pick one up and give it a go and I LoVeD it!! In fact, I bought 3 more the next time I was at the grocery store. I have been enjoying them the past few nights and as I indulge I wonder, why did it take me 26 years to discover this wonderful fruit?One thing that my deter me from continually getting them is how hard they are to cut. That core is a bugger man!

Funny now, not so funny then

2011-04-06T16:22:00.004-06:00

Last night when I was washing my face I realized that I was out of one of the products I use. I remember that I had bought an off brand of it once because I read that if you wipe it on your arm pits it will make you sweat less... WRONG, the same magazine told me that if you soak washcloths in tea and keep them under your arm pits for 20 minutes a day for 7 days it will help with sweating... WRONG and my roommate probably thought I was a total wack job for walking around with hot rags full of tea under my armpits. Maybe I should not get my health advice from Cosmo anymore. Anyways... so as I was using said product I remembered this fun little adventure...

When we were preparing for our trip last summer I went to bed bath and beyond and bought a bunch of travel items, i.e. lotion, Q-tips, funny story about Q-tips, Marshall always tells me that if he could go back and invent on thing it would be the Q-tip, such a great invention he says, easy, practical and used by everyone and probably the most simple invention worth billions. ha ha. Now, back to the story, anyways I also bought some face wipes. I have a brand of face wipe that I prefer but it is way pricey and I quit buying them but since then I have only bought one other brand and it made me break out so I shipped those babies off to the ol garbago cano. Well, I was hesitant to buy more because of my last experience but I could just not spend the money on the MAC ones so what they hay, I bought some at BB&B. So, we take our trip and the first hotel we stay at has this face soap that is awesome so I started collecting them and using them throughout the trip. It just so happens that I run out the first day of our cruise, no big deal, I have the face wipes I bought at the ol' bed bath and beyond. So, I use one the first night, everything seems okay. The next day I was out in the sun all day and got a little burnt so when I used it the second night I though nothing of it because nothing happened the first day, right? WRONG! When we were out and about the third day Marshall was sitting across from me at a table and he said, "Jenn, there is something seriously wrong with your forehead!" I looked in the mirror and it appeared to be badly sunburned and almost blistering, it was nasty to say the least but what could I do, I was in a foreign country and I had aloe on the boat so that would fix it by morning, the foreigners would just have to deal with it. So I used another face wipe that night, smothered my forehead in aloe and went to bed! The next morning I woke up and there was clearly something wrong, this was NOT a sunburn. So I headed out to find the doctors station on the ship. I am sure like 3 people have any idea that there is a doctors station on a cruise ship, let alone where it is and I guess I am just one of those lucky 3. I had to see the flipping doctor and he told me I was having an allergic reaction to something and he asked me if I had done anything out of the ordinary in the past few days...thinking...thinking...thinking... THE BLASTED FACE WIPES!!! So he gave me some benadryl which was outrageously priced but what was I supposed to do, I was on a boat in the middle of the ocean, they could charge a hundred bucks if they wanted too and i would still have no choice, dang CROOKS!

Anyways, the next day it was significantly better, luckily. So alas, I probably paid for the next renovation of the ship with the amount of money I spent on those pink little miracle workers. Good thing I was not allergic to benadryl like my mom... that woulda been bad... really really bad!!

Susan G.

2011-03-29T14:22:00.007-06:00

So I am signing up to do this again this year

http://ww5.komen.org/FindARace.aspx?id=a0U40000006gBloEAE&SearchLocation=UT

I know Tiffany and Carrie will be there considering they got these fancy new jogging strollers recently and are dying to use them for a cause ;o)

But last year I had a few people to tell them when it was so they could do it next year, well, consider this your invitation to my gangster nation (just kidding, that is a song and I just couldn't help myself).

If anyone has a team already let me know and I will join it, or Carrie, if your team is the same lemme know man. I have had people tell me to send them the link so they can donate so I really need to get on top of it.

May 7th - Be there or be square!

**UPDATE** Here is the link to sign up or donate!
http://www.info-komen.org/site/TR/RacefortheCure/General?px=8959232&pg=personal&fr_id=2133

EvErYbOdY just LOVES spring...

2011-03-29T14:04:00.002-06:00

I have never talked to anyone and them said "ewe yuck, spring"! It is just a great time of year, flowers, the sun, rain, warmth and SpRiNg ClEaNiNg!! That is what has been going on at the Kay house for flipping week now! We are taking it slow, one room at a time (I do all the rooms WITHOUT blinds first). I made Marshall a deal, I told him I would do the entire house if he did the garage, the storage room and... the dreaded kitchen. To my surprise he took his task quite seriously and is making our kitchen completely dust free! He took everything out of every cupboard and wiped it down and put it back, cleaned out the appliances and even requested that I pick a few special cleaners up for him. We hope to be done by Friday but I still have the master bed/bath & closet & the living room, which Marsh already said he would do the floors for and that that gonna be the worst part so YAY! I will be VERY glad to welcome spring after this part is done. Gotta get this crap outta the way so we can start our summer projects!!

Viva Las Vegas!!

2011-03-10T08:41:00.003-07:00

Marshall's lacrosse team had a tournament in Las Vegas last weekend and the parent rep for the team let him know that he would have his own room so if his wife wanted to come she was more than welcome... um... YEAH, SHE DOES!!!! So I took a half day Thursday and we tried to get out of the house around 4 but that turned into 6 so we didn't get there until about 1 in the morning but the minute we stepped out of the car it was a burst of refreshment!! The cool crisp air, clear sky and no white powdery stuff on the ground!Friday we slept in til noon then went SHOPPING SHOPPING SHOPPING!! We went to a strip mall just south of the strip and I fell in LOVE with the place. It was way clean, had a Tuscany feel to it and had seriously GREAT stores! We got lunch at a little Mexican restaurant and we sat out in the cabana for the afternoon. It was mid 70s, so I had a light jacket but it was BEAUTIFUL! Marshall had a game from 8-10 so after his game with hit up the strip. It was a blast!Saturday I slept in while Marshall was at games. I met him at the filed around noon, we got some lunch and he had about a 3 hour break so we hung out. I tried to catch some rays while reading and watching his last game. We left Vegas at about 7:30 Saturday night and got home around 1:30 and passed right out!It was so nice to take a break from all the craziness that has been going on lately, not to mention the great weather we were lucky enough to enjoy! We had so much fun together and now all we can talk about is the next trip we wanna take.

My V-Day gift

2011-03-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

Our house is really coming along nicely. Our room is all color coordinated with matching furniture and decor, all but this...I have been using a vanity to get ready ever since I can remember and I don't think I can go back to getting ready in the bathroom, even if it meant having this GIANT eyesore in our bedroom. This is even better than before, I just got that wicker basket drawer set, it used to be those white and clear rubbermaid drawers...Yikes!

Well, Marshall found this bad boy and surprised me with it for Valentines Day!SO SO SO much better!!! And I have re-upholstered the bench since taking these pictures so it is black as well.

Now if I could only figure out an alternative to that basket of products...

The Wood

2011-02-17T11:12:00.003-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, we went to Lowes to buy wood for a project. This project was inspired by a conversation Marshall and I recently had. We were talking about, reminiscing and admiring some of the beautiful pictures that we took in other countries that are displayed in our home and then we were thinking...we have these pictures of other countries in our home but we don't have any pictures of OUR beautiful country and even further than that we don't have any of OUR amazingly beautiful state. So we went through our pictures and picked three of our favorites that we took when we visited 3 of Utah's most beautiful places. We then began the search for frames that could complete the feel of the pictures but after looking we discovered we were not going to find frames in a store, Marshall was going to have to make them. So we looked through the giant pile of wood and got the straightest, knottiest and most rugged pieces of wood we could find and it definitely paid off (although you can't really tell by the pictures)! The frames did EXACTLY what we wanted them to do.

The boring empty wall:After:Up close:First we have on of San Rafael Swell in Southern Utah. It has a lot more detail when you look at it up close and it is an amazing picture that will get you to just stare at it for a while.
Second is Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. It was not easy to get a picture without any people in it so I had to crop some out but you wouldn't know that unless I told you. Marsh and I had such a good time on this trip and when we look at the picture not only do we see an amazing, natural piece of art but we remember the day like it was yesterday. Good times.
Third is The Narrows in Zion National Park. We went with Chris, Ashley, Josh & Tiffany and had such a good time. I think this picture actually came off of Tiffany's camera because that is Marshall and I starting the hike. We liked this one particularly because it is us hiking it. Not posing for it, in fact, not even knowing it is getting taken and it just takes us back.

Let the projects begin!

2011-02-17T10:59:00.004-07:00

Apparently Marshall and I are DONE "sitting around" (I put it in quotations because even though we haven't been busy with projects we do little to no sitting around anyways, such busy bees we are). Anywho, last Friday we went to Lowes to get some wood for a project and we ended up leaving with new hardware for our kitchen. Check it out.

Before:After:

This was just as much for function as it was for the look of it. Opening drawers from digging your finger into the side of them sucks, this is much better!

Welcome Home

2011-01-21T10:06:00.003-07:00

Yesterday when I got home from work I found this...(sorry for the shadow)
Now, the fact that it proves how awesome of a husband I have is great and all, but it is not my favorite part. I specifically like the little animal drawing (possibly a sheep or perhaps a really fat dog) under the last sentence and above all else I love the signature! How cute is he?!? I just wanted to squeeze his guts when he got home.

Jazzin' the place up!

2011-01-21T09:13:00.004-07:00

The school Marshall works at is EXTREMELY old and outdated. His classroom is no exception but he tries to liven the place up as much as he can. Cool bulletin boards, A map quilt my mom made him of the United States and some other minor tweeks. Moral of the story... he has 4 bookcases that hold books that he doesn't use and they had some old plaid curtains that were super dirty and just a giant eye sore. So for my project over the Christmas break I decided to make new ones. We did a little hunting for fabrics that were pertinent to what he teaches and came up with these...Obviously the Jazz one has nothing to do with school but we just couldn't help ourselves. The other one is a math one and there are 2 more, one with a road map and land marks such as Niagra Falls, National Forests, etc. and the last one is a history one with Christopher Columbus, ships and stuff like that. They turned out really great and he says that his kids just LOVE them!

The big "ONE"

2011-01-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

For our anniversary this year we decided to take a little trip...

We rented a cabin in Bear Lake...Rented a couple snowmobiles...Did a little snow shoeing...And had an absolutely amazing time!My thoughts on marriage: Marriage = super awesome! I am quite enjoying it. I found that we argued more when we were dating than since we have been married but that could be due to the fact that we dated for a super long time so maybe we got out the majority of our big debates then, who knows. All in all, although busy, 2010 was one of my favorite years. We did so much amazing stuff and experienced so many new and fun things that it is going to be hard to top in 2011... but I am sure going to try my hardest ;o)

Top 5 "You have GOT to be kidding me" moments of 2010

2011-01-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

5. When I washed something green with my whites batch that included but was not limited to: 5 brand new undershirts of mine, 4 brand new undershirts of Marshall's and a brand new package of Marshall's socks. Needless to say, I was mad for a very long time!

4. Waking up Thanksgiving morning with frozen pipes when we were due to host.

3. Having to dig out a 400 LB snowmobile out of 5 feet of fresh powder right after it started getting dark.

2. When our new neighbors informed us that Lequita and Barnard had gotten loose, pooped on their porch and they found their 1 year old eating it!

And drum roll please.... the #1 "You have got to be kidding me" moments of 2011 is...

1. Having to fly home to the states and leave my husband in Venice on the last day of our flippin' honeymoon. Yeah, it pretty much sucked super bad!

Our Christmas Date

2010-12-20T12:30:00.003-07:00

This Saturday Marshall and I made a date out of an amazing Christmas gift from my brother's family. We started by going to Macaroni Grill in SLC (using a gift card from one of Mr. Kay's students), which for us is a real treat because we NEVER go out to eat. The wait on the table was about an hour so we just gave the lady our phone number instead of getting a little buzzer thing and we walked to Temple Square to see the lights.
It is such a nice thing to do around this time because it is so beautiful and something different than your normal day to day. So after the lights and after the dinner we went to the Jon Schmidt Christmas Concert at Kingsbury Hall. It was AMAZING! Marsh and I are really into things like this and it has been a while since we have been so we were both super stoked! Thanks to Marshall's student for dinner and thanks to my brother for our entertainment! We had such a good night.

But it didn't end there... Marshall and I have a bad habit of hearing about a show that is super good after it has been aired and we stream in from netflix. The problem is we get ADDICTED! Last year it was Lost, we would wake up watching lost and go to be watching Lost, it was out of control. Well, it was nice when it ended because we got our lives back but now it is Prison Break.We stayed up til 4 AM watching the stupid show and woke up at 11 and turned it right back on. Excuse me if I can't get enough of a little Wentworth Miller!

Scenic Drive

2010-12-19T12:23:00.001-07:00

This is what I saw on my way to work the other morning. Couldn't help but put my life and those around me in danger to snap a photo... oops.

Happy Birthday Marshall!!

2010-12-15T08:24:00.003-07:00

It was Marshall's birthday on Monday and boy did he get SPOILED rotten! We started it out Friday night by going to the Jazz vs. Orlando game, Jazz won, go Jazz! Then we rented a room in the downtown Marriott so that we could just make a night of it and not worry about going home. Our room had an AMAZING view of the city, especially the SL Temple. It was a great idea... until... the construction started at 7AM on Saturday! We laid there and tried to pretend it was not happening but eventually we got up and went home. Then Sunday we had a few friends over for a small birthday dinner party which turned out great in my opinion. Out of the 3 couples there there were two birthdays on the 13th and one on the 14th, weird. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the dinner but it was a way good time. It certainly makes us want to host more often. And as for gifts, well, he got: a shop vac, a ladder, shoes, dress socks, a tie, $$$ and some DVD's from the History channel. What a lucky guy!

I am so sad this picture didn't turn out. It was such a beautiful view :(

Time with the neph

2010-12-14T08:18:00.001-07:00

The past few months Marshall and I have been having our nephew AJ over one night for a slumber party. It has been quite the learning experience. Kids crack me up to say the least. He was over a couple weeks ago and in the morning before we took him home we took him to the Museum of Natural History. Marshall, more so than anyone, was WAY into it. He likes to read all the plaques and stuff. I was pretty into it to, especially the gem & dinosaur sections. AJ on the other hand... well... not so much. He just wanted to play his harmonica through the quite museum. Ha ha. He does however like getting his picture taken. Like a dummy, I forgot our camera so I just used my phone, I apologize for the poor quality.

One of my favorite things AJ does is, he will ask me for something and if I say no he will ask Marshall, right in front of me, like Marshall is so powerful he can trump what I say or as if I didn't hear him ask Marshall and I won't object. It is hilarious the way kids minds work. It makes me laugh every time he does it, and it is quite frequent ;o)

Our tree

2010-12-07T10:04:00.002-07:00

Last year Marshall's mom gave us a cute little tree that fit great in our little apartment. This year we decided that we will not be getting fresh cut trees until we have kids so we pulled out the ole' fakey again. The ornaments are great, decorating it was great but gee golly it looks pretty dang dinky in front of that big ol' window. Oh well, maybe I will find a good deal on a big one after Christmas this year so we can have it for next year. Besides the dinkyness we think it turned out pretty darn jazzy. (I do need to make a tree skirt in the near future though).

Christmas Traditions

2010-12-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

Every year we make gingerbread houses at Marshall's mom's house. This year is our best house yet. It is our gingerbread log cabin! Marshall has never been as into it as he was this year. He was a man on a mission! He was measuring and cutting pretzel logs with all his heart. Oh good times.

Gifts

2010-12-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Our anniversary is approaching so I have been asking Marshall to give me some ideas of what he may want. He decided that he wants to start going winter camping, why, I do not know but regardless he said he wanted a winter sleeping bag. So, when Chris was in town for Thanksgiving we all went to REI to find a goodie. We looked, and looked and looked. They finally found one they liked but it had no price so I took it up to the guy to ask how much it was and I also asked if it was waterproof. The guy replied "will you be in a tent" apparently the look on my face said it all because he immediately asked where my husband was. ha ha ha. So, anyways, the trip was successful, we found Marshy a bag but I told him he had to wait until our anniversary to have it (not really) and apparently he just couldn't wait another day because when I went down stairs the other day, this is what I found...
Snug as a bug in a rug.

He said he just wanted to test it out.

We did the UNTHINKABLE!!!

2010-12-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

We invited BOTH families over for Thanksgiving! Insert gasp here! When we told people we were doing this we got nothing but surprised reactions. It turned out great! I didn't get any pictures of the 18 people we had over but I did get some of us preparing the meal.
Fred making the nut cups
Marshall making the favors
My grandma & my mom slaving away.
Fred eating said nut cups. Busted!
My mom, me and my grandma
Marshall getting ready to carve the turkey. I love how he gets into whatever we are doing. As soon as he saw Grandma Bonnie with her apron he ran and got his on.

There are so many things to be grateful for this year and I am so glad I got to spend the holiday with everyone at the same time in the comfort of my own home instead of running around to house after house. It was a lot of work but it turned out great.

And it all began...

2010-12-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

My grandma came over to bake bread for the stuffing on Thanksgiving and while her and I were busy baking, Marshall kept my grandpa company. My grandpa looked at the foosball table and said "what is this?" It was over from there. Him and Marshall played and played. It was hilarious. My grandpa and Marshall have always gotten along really well, maybe it is there same dry sense of humor ;o) After several rounds, they decided to watch clips on the internet about falconry. Marshall is now trying to convince my grandpa to get a falcon to train and my grandpa is trying to talk me into getting Marshall one for his birthday. Um... no thanks!

Snow and your inner child

2010-11-24T10:52:00.004-07:00

Last night while Marshy and I were eating dinner we heard some kids outside of our house playing in the giant snow storm. So Marshall decides he is going to throw snow balls at them. Our front door is kind of hidden between our front bay window and our garage so you are not super visible unless you are looking directly at the door. So he starts throwing them and they don't notice until one of them hits the ground right at one of the kids feet and the snow bounces up and hits his leg. He looks around and Marsh and I were giggling so it got his attention and he started throwing them back. I shut the door and went in so snow didn't get in the house but Marshall stayed out there and had a snowball fight until he could no longer feel his fingers. I have a picture of when Marsh came in the house all covered in snow, I will post it later. Good old Marshall, making a great impression on all the kids in the neighborhood. It makes me smile.

Chiropractor part II

2010-11-22T11:27:00.002-07:00

So I went back to the Chiropractor today for the rest of my adjustment and to go over my x-rays. So what did we find out? My hips are twisted, not only a little but a lot and this is a major part of why my back constantly hurts and I also have minor minor Spina bifida, meaning my backbone and spinal canal did not close before birth. It is only present on my bottom vertebrae and cannot be fixed but it is only a small part of the problem. It was very interesting to get a lesson on the back bone via my x-rays. Unfortunately, in order for the doc to fix what he can of the problem it will cost around $1000. I am going to try to stretch more and do Pilates or Yoga religiously and see if I can begin correcting the problem naturally, my own way before going and getting yanked, cracked and twisted around. Here goes nothin'.

Bonding

2010-11-22T11:06:00.005-07:00

I was bored on Sunday so I decided to try out my new cookie cutter set. I made sugar cookies and 4 colors of frosting. Marshall told me he wanted to help frost but when we still had about 25% left he said it sucked. When I asked him why he wanted to help he told me "because we are bonding". Okay then. His process was quite interesting. First he would dip the cookie face down into the frosting, then spread, then repeat with 2 more cookies then sprinkle all three. Hey, whatever floats your boat!

Dip...
Then spread...
Then sprinkle
Marshall's tray of cookies.
Don't remember this being taken. Sorry for my "snow day" apparel. I cleaned, did laundry and made cookies. No reason to get all fancy.
My tray

Decorating... Decorating... Decorating...

2010-11-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

This seems to be a never ending process. Trying to fill our home with things that make us happy, display who we are and look jazzy all at the same time. Marshall is just as into it as I am which makes our home even better, now you get his style and mine combined which makes it truly unique.

Above our coat closet in the front room there was an empty ledge. We never really knew what we wanted up there but we knew we wanted something because it was bare and boring. The other day Marshall said he figured it out and he was going to the garage. This is what he came up with...A beautiful homemade planter box filled with plants we had around that needed a home!
The best part was watching him get it up there. Apparently it was SUPER heavy.

And Vwala!
Besides looking a little lopsided because the 4th plant is small and cannot be seen it turned out pretty darn awesome. And when that little guy grows in it will look even better!

Giving

2010-11-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

Marshall and I have talked a lot about Christmas recently and how sad it is that the majority of people we talk to are not excited for the holiday because of money. The idea of Christmas and the season for giving is almost lost and it is actually really sucky. We have decided to try and bring that back to our family and the first step was making beenies for the homeless. Last year my mom decided that she wanted to give back and she started buying a thing of yarn every time she was at the store and she would crochet, crochet, crochet until her fingers were sore. She did this all year, anytime you saw her she had her crochet bag, just in case she would have a spare minute to get some stitches in. She ended up donating over 500 beenies to a homeless shelter in Salt Lake. It was truly amazing, especially seeing how gratifying it was and apparently it is rubbing off on Marsh and I.His school is making stockings for the homeless and Marshall volunteered to make beenies for it. So, I taught him the basics, like how to chain, single crochet and double crochet and although he struggled and was frustrated he got the hang of it... slowly...My mother came up later that day and showed us how to make the beenies. I loved to see Marsh working so hard at it, he was determined to do it correctly and learn it, even though his fingers constantly kept getting in the way. He really stepped out of his comfort zone on this project and I think it is amazing!

My trip to.... the Chiropractor

2010-11-19T16:30:00.003-07:00

So, I am not a huge "believer" in Chiropractor practice. I have my reasons. But for the past 7-8 years I have started having serious problems with my back. Some days it was all I could do to get through the day at work but once I got home it was OVER. I was useless. I wobbled around like a penguin and getting up from sitting down... pshaw... it took FOR EVER. Usually the pain would go away and I would be fine the next day and I would do it all over again. Like I said, some days were worse than others. Well last night I was fine during the day but we went to a play of our cousins that evening and it was miserable! About 20 minutes in Marshall and I both started doing the wiggle worm in our seats, making it appear we are super board and cant sit still but in fact we were just trying to reposition so we could watch the play without all the agony and pain. By intermission it took every bone in my body to get up out of that chair and walk around to stretch but the worst part was right when I sat back down. It was awful! Well, this morning I woke up still in pain and this has never happened before so I was a little freaked out. After all, your back is kind of important! So I went to work and started talking to my boss about it because I know she has had some back problems in the past. She basically pushed me out the door and started my car for me and sent me on my way to see a dreaded Chiropractor. I cannot stand the sound of people cracking their fingers and the thought of doing it to myself is appalling so thinking of someone doing it to my SPINE really freaked me out. My boss told me it would be super simple, 15 minutes tops, they would adjust me and send me on my way feeling better than ever. Wrong.

First thing is a giant questioner with the assistant about my pain. Then homeboy tells me to get totally undressed and put on a robe thingy for x-rays. Okay fine. Then the doctor comes... dun dun dun... he lays me face down on this table and says this exact thing "alright, I am just going to feel around for WHOA, theres one" There is one what?!

The RESULTS: My whole shiz is crooked! Yeah, that is right. Starting at the top of my lower back the bone starts shifting to the right and as you get further down it gets worse. He did the first 1/2 of the adjustment but because it was so bad he said that he could only do half today because it was going to make the pain worse and my muscles needed time to heal before he could do the other half. GREAT. So he popped a bunch of crap and it sucked and I left feeling like an owl and all I could do was move my eyes because it hurt so FREAKING bad! He also told me that my right leg was off balance by a 1/2 inch. Back problems are a domino effect I have decided.

Oh yay for me, I get to go back on Monday for more fun with Mr. Chiropractor of death! Maybe he knew I had mixed emotions so he is putting me through hell on purpose.
Here I am, 26 going on 90!

Next time my back hurts I am just going to go get a massage.

Date Night

2010-11-16T16:04:00.005-07:00

The ONLY thing we miss about not having cable is not being able to watch the Jazz games. It especially hurts when we hear about them and how freaking amazing they are doing this year. We decided that it was time to go to a game, it was time that we see our new team rocking the new uniforms and why not make a date out of it. No more dinner and a movie for us, no no my friends, it is now dinner and a Jazz game!! So... alas... we did... And we saw them from the 22nd row need I mind you. It was awesome, all the way until they lost at the VERY end. Oh well, ya win some ya lose some. Go Jazz!

RC

2010-11-11T10:18:00.004-07:00

This weekend Marshall and his brother went to pick up our new couch (yay). Afterwords we took Nathan (Marshall's brother) and Logan (our nephew) to lunch for helping us. Whenever we need a truck Nathan is always there willing to help so we thought it would be the least we could do. Anyways, so after lunch we were headed back to Nathan's house to pick up Marshall's car and we decided to stop and play with Nathan's new RC car for a little bit. It was way fun and Logan totally digs it! Marshall was getting INTO it! If the battery hadn't died I have a feeling we would have been there for quite some time. It is pretty tricky to steer and it goes insanely fast so it easily gets your interest and makes you want to be able to get power over the thing and be able to show it who is boss. Only 2 of our nephews live around here so whenever we get the chance to hang out we love to take advantage of it. Marshall bounced the car off the curb once and it did a couple flips and brushed Logan so he was pretty timid after that. As you can see in the second picture, he still wants to be part of the action but only if he is behind someone thus they can take the hit if Driver Marshall can't get his act together.

Can't you get a tarp or something?

2010-11-10T10:08:00.002-07:00

I was driving home from work last week sometime, la de da de da and I noticed this truck next to me...Okay, no big deal, la de da de da. But look closer...Yeah, there was a dead deer, on its back, with its legs just floppin' around. Instead of wrapping it in the tarp they laid it ON the tarp. Stupid idiots! I am not timid when it comes to these kinds of things but geez laweeze I don't exactly want to see dead deer legs floppin' around on my way home from work just before I cook dinner. Cover that up man!

Fifel round 2

2010-11-03T10:52:00.003-06:00

On Monday when Marshall and I got home from work we both quickly ran to the 4 mouse traps to see if we had caught Fifel and this is what we found...
That little butt cheek at the cheese off of EVERY trap! So not only do we have a mouse but we have a SMART mouse. So we decide to put peanut butter on all of the traps because maybe it will be harder for him to get it off.

Yesterday when I get home I quickly do my rounds only to find... another trap, licked clean! He left the other 3 so maybe he is on to us. Marshall thinks he is full so hopefully he will work up an appetite tonight because I took Amandah's advice and went to the Home Depot and got 2 of these...
Hopefully tonight the little green light is blinking to assure victory!!!

Trick or Treaters and our unwelcomed house guest

2010-11-01T09:16:00.007-06:00

I was amazed this year that Marshall actually got into Halloween. He always says that he just wants to turn off all the lights and pretend that no one is home but this year he was more than happy to take part in the tradition. We got lots of candy because there are lots of little kids in our neighborhood and we had to be prepared. It was fun... at first... but then we truly realized just how many kids were in our neighborhood and it got annoying. We started taking turns answering the door. Well, my turn came about and as I was going up the stairs I saw a dark spot about the size of a golf ball move across the floor, I turned around and told Marshall "I seriously think I just saw a mouse" He stared at me waiting for me to say "Bazinga" (it means just kidding in our house) and I said "No seriously Marshall, I am not playing, do I look like I am playing?" Meanwhile the doorbell rang again so I turned around to go up the stairs and I saw him again just sitting on the kitchen floor. I screamed bloody murder and started jumping up and down as Marshall came running but by the time he got there the pesky varmint was gone. I proceeded to answer the door and apologize for the loud scream. Marshall was searching for a mouse trap that we saw when we moved in (shoulda' got the hint then I suppose) and the freaking dare devil ran across again. This time he was in plain sight and we got a complete profile look and although he was super small he was freaking CREEPY! So we set the one mouse trap that we had and Marshall assured me that we would have him caught in the morning and I had nothing to worry about because mice couldn't climb stairs, and our bedroom is at the top of about 10 stairs. I told him that if he was not gone in the morning I was evacuating! The rest of the night I tiptoed past the kitchen trying to avoid it at all causes and I noticed that even Marshall was a little timid, he was getting water about 3 feet away from the fridge, just leaned with his upper body, thus to avoid getting his toes nibbled by our little friend. Whom Marshall named Fifel. Next morning came and no Fifel! I insisted that we go to the store and get more traps. I wanted to set up a perimeter around the entire kitchen but Harmons didn't have enough traps! Boo! We strategically set 4 traps up and took a survey to see what kind of food to bate them with. Grandpa Fred said hands down cheese, Uncle Terry was adamant about Peanut Butter so we did a combination. In fact one trap has both! Oh, and Uncle Terry also informed me that mice CAN go up stairs and they CAN get into your bed! Yeah, I am not okay with all of this. When we got in bed last night I asked Marshall what he would do if Fifel crawled across his chest during the night and he told me he would cry. Turns out Marshall is super scared of mice! Oh great, that makes 2 of us.

This looks like a job for SUPERMAN!

2010-10-28T10:16:00.005-06:00

Marshall tells me Tuesday night at about 10 that he needs a costume for the Halloween Carnival at his school, which is on Thursday(today). GREAT! Quick, everyone put on your thinking caps... Thanks to a co-worker we came up with this...Clark Kent!
And what is a Halloween costume if you can't get into it?
Clearly Marshall has no problem with that!
Up Up and AWAY!
And when I told my 5 year old nephew (who is being Spiderman) about his cool uncle Marshall's costume he was EXTATIC! I told him they would be a great superhero team! Oh yeah... cool uncle Marshall, thanks to cool Aunt Jennifer!

Total cost $1. For the dollar store glasses that are probably going to make Marshall have to see an optometrist because he goes blind from wearing prescription glasses when he doesn't need them. And they are a STRONG prescription, trust me, i tried them on and though I was in an alternate universe. But hey, what is halloween if someone doesn't loose there eyesight?

The cool neighbor

2010-10-28T10:11:00.004-06:00

A few of the boys from the neighborhood were playing a little touch football and apparently Marshall just couldn't help himself. When I went out to get him (because we had to leave) they all pouted and told him to come back out when he got home. Marshall says to me "ha, been here a couple months and I am already the cool neighbor".

25 going on 12

2010-10-27T13:47:00.003-06:00

Upon entering one of the stores we went to on our extensive couch search Marshall found a GIANT chair and as soon as he spotted it he said "ohh, take a picture, take a picture" after I rolled my eyes and chuckled a little I took a picture for the little guy. He is adorable. And the look on his face shows the tremendous amount of joy he received upon getting his picture taken on the GIANT chair. He asked me if I wanted my picture taken on it but I kindly passed on the offer.

Super Awesome Weekend

2010-10-27T13:26:00.000-06:00

What did we do you ask? A whole bunch of this...
We resumed our positions on the couch, hooked the laptop up to the TV and watched the entire second season of The Big Bang Theory. It was flipping awesome! It was rainy and cold so we snuggled up with blankies and didn't move. I love getting stuff done but once in a while there is nothing like doing NOTHING!

Seriously Marshall, Seriously?

2010-10-26T13:00:00.002-06:00

Many of you may know this but I live with none other than the flippin' grinch! No matter how hard I try getting him in the Christmas spirit each year it always fails. So finally I have accepted my fate and am no longer trying to cheer up Mr. Christmas DUD. I will have my own Christmas spirit party and he is no longer invited to JOIN IT!!! So, I am SUPER stoked to finally have a house so that I can have Christmas lights! Isn't this something everyone thinks of when they are buying a house? Yeah, I am pretty sure it is. Okay, moving right along... Last year, in the apartment, I strung lights around my deck railing and it brought tremendous joy every time i drove by and they were lit (maybe because I knew Marshall turned them on and that was a glimmer of hope, I should mention that this only happened twice) Anywho... so I asked Marshall if he would hang them for me and of course he said no and I said what about if I buy you whiskey? And vwala! I have a Christmas light hanger. We are still working out negotiations for the Christmas light taker-downer. It is all about playing to crowd ladies and gentlemen.

SNOW!

2010-10-25T12:56:00.003-06:00

I woke up this morning and.... there was a sheet of SNOW on the lawn! YAY! I am in LOVE LOVE LOVE with snow. I think it is gorgeous! Not so much to drive in but definitely to LOOK AT!!! YAY winter.

Tricks

2010-10-24T11:52:00.001-06:00

The blog is playing tricks on me and I do not appreciate it. I tried to publish a post and it gave me an error message so I gave up and now I get a comment that you can see the title but not the post. WTH man? So... I shall try again.A lot of things have been happening in my life lately that have really got me thinking. Thinking about a lot of different things really. One of the biggest is my family. Me and Marshall. Gosh I love it! One particular conversation with my superfluous nosy neighbor made me realize how much I love it. Upon being openly inquisitive she mentioned that she saw us getting new counter tops delivered and one thing led to another and next thing I knew she was snooping around inside my house looking at said counter tops.

**Side note** For some reason, the older I get, the less friendly, less nice, less understanding and more paranoid I get toward strangers. I really wish this would have happened when I was 16.**

So she comes in and I immediately feel like my space is being invaded! Somehow she talks her way up stairs to see the new bathroom and pokes her head in a couple other rooms. I am in the kitchen pacing back and forth, having a heart attach thinking... get out! get out! get out! She finally comes down stairs and proceed to have an extremely awkward conversation about how different our lives/homes are. Only ended by Marshall feeling the awkwardness and offering her and 2 of her kids a cookie. Thank you Marshall. Anywho... after she left it really got me thinking...

We have really been working hard to create a home for ourselves and along the way I am afraid I have not been thinking about having a baby in the house. Have we created a completely un-baby friendly house? Can we be good enough parents to teach them what they can and cannot touch? Is our house going to be a giant NO? Are we going to have to have a maze of baby gates up thus to not destroy what we have created? Was this all selfish? Is it wrong of me not to want kids right away but instead to build a life with Marshall first then add kids to it later? Will I get over having to have things clean all the time? Why am I so unfriendly? Do I care too much about worldly items? Will having a kid change that? Will I still get to buy nice things for myself? Will I want to? Will I feel the need to? Will my body ever be the same after kids? Should I care? Does having a kid un-selfishize you? Is un-selfishize a word? Do I need to change my entire life style? Do I come off a biznatch? Am I over thinking things like i do 90% of the time? Hm...

Sunday: Pondering. Doing laundry. Cleaning. Pondering.
Monday: Work. Finish Laundry. Cook.
Tuesday: Date night with Marshall. Dinner and a Netflix.

Wednesday: Every Wednesday is "spa day" at my house. When I get home from work I begin the quest of beauty. I start by removing all of my old nail polish (usually fingers and toes), I then epilate one leg (then the battery dies), I plug in the epilater and hop in the shower for an extra long, exfoliating, relaxing escape (sometimes this is a bath), after which I deep condition my hair and pluck my eyebrows. While my hair is air drying a bit, I epilate the other leg, I then dry my hair, paint my toe nails and last but not least my fingernails. All while watching shows on line, most recently The Big Bang Theory (hilarious). This takes all night. From the time I get home from work to the minute I go to bed (not sticking my feet under the covers in fear of smudging my freshly painted toes).

Thursday: Marshall and I continued our very extensive search for a very specific couch. Our front room is going to be the "gem" of our home. We have decided up front to spare no expense, no matter how long it takes to complete. So, couch hunting, couch hunting. We decide on a range of which we are comfortable spending on a couch because although we say "spare no expense" there is a line that must be drawn, so we look, look, look. Ahh... there she is... How much? Over our price range. Of course, this always happens to me! If i had a catch phrase it would be: "Jennifer, champagne taste with a beer budget". Anyways, okay we found runner up number 2, not as good as the first one but still alright and in our price range. We tell the salesman we will be back after we think about it. So we go home and proceed to the living room where said couches new home will be. Marshall joins me and we think. We think, think, think. I look at Marshall, knowing exactly what he is thinking and I say "why do we always do this? Why don't we just get the one in our price range that will be just fine?" and Marshall looks at me and says (excuse the language) and I quote "because we are spoiled little bitches!" I just look at him, not wanting to believe what he said and go upstairs to bed. About 10 minutes after laying there I say "so we are getting the one we want but shouldn't get?" he rolls over and says "duh".

The moral of this very long story: I have been thinking about kids a lot lately, especially when I see ALL of my friends kids and how cute they are and how good of moms they are and how fun it looks and i have to think extra hard because I know EVERYTHING is going to change once I pop one out, and although I want kids soon, I love the way we live now. I love taking luxurious vacations, just the 2 of us, I love having the option to buy clothes that cost as much as our car insurance, I like having a spa day every week, I love building a bond with Marshall that will be un-penetrable and although our day will come and children will bless our lives when a week like this one happens it makes me happy to continue to wait for that day to come! I can only have this life style once because once kids come it will be entirely different and with kids always being an option and this opportunity expiring upon acceptance of the kid option I think I will continue to enjoy it for a bit longer. In the mean time, I will just go to the Austin's and play with Dane to fulfill my baby needs. Sorry mom.

Boys will be BOYS

2010-10-18T09:03:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that I didn't post about this earlier because I think of it and tell the story often and it makes me laugh every time. So, Marshall's dad was in town in August and they were going to do a few projects and decided that a little hand saw was just NOT going to cut it (no pun intended). So, they headed off to the ol' Home Depot in search for a saw. After going to the store, Marshall's dad just dropped Marshall off at our house with his new tow because he was meeting up with Marshall's brother. Soon after I hear his dad leave Marshall comes in and without hesitation and with much excitement he says to me "wanna come see my new saw"? Um... I said... well, gosh, not really. And the look on his face was priceless, like I just told him Santa was not real. And with a shiny, glazed over set of eye balls he looks up at me, so hurt and sad and says with a very pitiful voice "but it has a laser". I immediately started laughing because it took me back to the days when I was 6 and was not interested in my brothers air machine gun and it just crushed him. So, needless to say, I went into the garage and saw the saw with the laser. And I was lucky enough to even get a demonstration. God bless little boys.

The finished product

2010-10-15T08:38:00.003-06:00

Before:

After: Last night we said goodbye to the last bit of linoleum and laminate in our entire house! ahhhh... it felt OHHH so good!

**NOTE: I still need a few more decorations... YAY

Back yard that says so much

2010-10-14T08:32:00.000-06:00

While I was taking pictures of the landscaping we have done in the front yard I decided it would be a good idea to put up some pictures of what sold us on the house. I am standing in the door frame of our back door while taking these and I think they speak for themselves.
Behind our house is a small park, every city has one and it is in case of flooding so the middle of the park is slanted inward. It stretches all the way up and down our entire street and around the corner and the best part is, no one can EVER build there. You can see how far back our neighbors houses are and then to the left the houses are pretty far away. WE LOVE our back yard. We are out there every night that we can be and my clever mother got us that awesome fire pit for Christmas (and because we are not 10 anymore and a gift like that would get most of its use during the next couple months, she gave it to us early). It is super amazing and when we sit out there we get overwhelming feelings of how lucky we are.

Proud Moment

2010-10-13T12:39:00.005-06:00

As many of you know, Marshall is extremely into lacrosse. He has played since high school, was a captain at BYU and won 2 national championships along with being All American back in New York & his first year at BYU (I just found out what All American means recently and WOW). If you have ever seen him play it is fascinating to watch, it comes so naturally and he is SUPER good. Well, since graduating from college every year we have a school or 2 hunt him down and ask him to be their coach. The last school he was at the team just didn't have it in them. Something you should know is that back east lacrosse is SERIOUS! You practice every day and you work your tail off. Well, it is just up an coming in the west coast so naturally some people have a different attitude about it. He has struggled the past 2 years with his team trying to understand why they don't take it serious and what he can do as the coach to help them. After moving to our new home Marshall decided that it was too far to drive to coach the same team and soon after word got out he got another offer at a school right by us. It just so happens that this particular school is as passionate about lacrosse as Marshall is and he is having an amazing time coaching an amazing team. They are driven, enthusiastic, SERIOUS and good! Now, Marshall has always gotten paid to coach but it was not much and for as much stress as it put Marsh under I tried to talk him out of it but he just cannot get away from the game, it will be in his heart forever. Marshall is not only teaching school full time but he is also taking classes 2 nights a week and online to get extra certification so he can get paid more and become more valuable as a teacher, he is the head coach of this new school and he runs his own lacrosse camps in Idaho every June for three weeks. So, he is a VERY busy man to say the least. I just wanted to make a post at how proud of him I am so the next time he pisses me off I can look back at this blog and remember how amazing he is and how hard he works for our family.

**Side note** It is so amazingly sexy to watch Marshall coach! The way he knows the game, gets totally into it, bosses the kids around (they call him sir) and is dead set on taking "his team" to a championship. It is like a fantasy come true!

My first tile job!

2010-10-11T08:24:00.001-06:00

As mentioned in my previous post, Marshall and I took on the project of re-modeling our second bathroom. We started last Friday after work and it will be complete on Thursday, when the counter top guy comes. Friday night we demoed the old bathroom, painted the first coat of paint and started re-finishing the vanity. Saturday we painted the 2nd and 3rd coat, finished the vanity and began to prepare for Marshall to lay tile. Sunday rolls around and Marshall is beginning to figure out the puzzle that is called tile (it is actually kinda difficult). Naturally I was right there with him, helping out, soaking in and learning (I think I get this curiosity from my mother). He laid the first 2 tiles and then he needed to make a cut so I went in the bathroom and started spreading the mortar like I had previously watched him do. After the cut he handed me the tile and I measured the next space for a cut. Next thing I knew I had mortar to my elbows, all over my pants, totally covering my fingers and we were 3/4ths of the way done with the floor and it was looking FABULOUS! So we just continued with it and now I can proudly say I have laid tile. Ohhh weee, it makes me get goose bumps looking at how strait those lines are! After I was finished Marshall and I were looking at it and he looked at me and said "Jenn, you will never look at tile the same again". I didn't exactly know what that meant until I was at the post office the other day and I couldn't help but notice how far apart there grout was. Ha ha ha, I guess he was right.

Projects!

2010-10-08T08:57:00.012-06:00

Everyone that comes over cant help but be amazed at how much we have done to our house already. Some of it may be ambition some of it may just be my sense to be doing something ALL OF THE TIME but whatever it is we LOVE IT! I had a request for a posting so I thought I should tell everyone what we have been up to (this is just a small handful, trust me). I have learned that I am not very good at the whole before and after thing so you will have to use your imagination on the before part, sorry, i will work on it. So, since moving in at the end of June (with a three week break for Europe and two weeks off for family in town) we have done this:

Re-finished the master bathroom

BEFORE: Not the best picture in the world, Marshall took it when he was talking to his brother finding the best way to rip up linoleum but you get the drift. It was hunter green and GROSS! It was first on our list and it got done 1st thing. All done by Marshall, myself and a little tile cutting help from Walker.

AFTER:

I am absolutely THRILLED with how it came out. One of my favorite rooms in the house.

Painted the master bedroom:

Painted a wall & furnished the office

Finished our basement bedroom - This little delight used to be the "play room" so it was yellow walls with a pretend bright blue fireplace that doubled as a chalk board and the alphabet around the top edge painted in yellow, red, blue and green. It was just darling... NOT!

Built an extra closet in the basement

Built storage shelves in the basement

Built a work bench in the garage

Boarded off the top of the kitchen cupboards

Replaced and painted the pantry doors

Landscaped the front yard

BEFORE:

This one I really wish I had a better before because we really have done a lot in the front yard.

AFTER:

Everything is still pretty immature but I will take some more pictures next summer when things are a little more vibrant!

Started landscaping the backyard

Re-wired and fixed broken heads on the sprinkling system

Moved the back fence

Vigorously worked on repairing our VERY dead grass

Replaced the family room ceiling fan

Like I said, this is not everything we have done and we don't plan on stopping any time soon. In fact, this weekend we are re-doing the second bathroom so I will post about that sometime next week.

A lot of people ask what our secret is and I feel as though I must come clean...We moved in the last couple days of June and since we were leaving for Europe just 15 days later we decided not to get cable until we got back. Well, when we got back we had family in town for 2 weeks and after that we finally to some projects that desperately needed to be done. That was enough to give us the motivation to keep going, so that is exactly what we did. After getting through so much so fast we decided that we like not having cable and the money we were saving from not having it we have been putting back into our house via projects. **Note: it also helps to have a husband with summers off**

"Tin snips, babe"

2010-09-22T12:50:00.004-06:00

Marshall and I have been working in our yard non stop since we moved in. It was in desperate need of some TLC so I had my friend Carrie (who is awesome at landscaping) and draw up some plans and Marshall and I have slowly been putting the yard together (it is INSANELY pricey). We final completed the front yard and after all that hard work it sort of becomes your baby. We water daily, check on the new plants, weed, etc. Well we planted about 12-14 day lilies and in order for the roots to grow we needed to snip off the tops. One day I decided I would take on this project, not only to the day lilies but to everything we planted and that was a TON of stuff. It took me forever! Pruning Sheers

Later that night Marshall came in from the backyard and asked me why his tin snips were sitting on the table. I told him I had no idea, I had not touched his tin snips. We then began to discuss what I did that day. Mid conversation Marshall got an ear to ear grin on his face and went out back. He came back in and held up the pruning sheers and said is this what you used to do all that work? I told him yes and that I was not done so I left them out. He started laughing and said "those are tin snips babe". I felt pretty stupid but then he went to the garage and showed me the pruning sheers and they do look a lot alike, and they were both red. The pruning sheers would have been much easier to use though. Cut me some slack... I am new at this!
Tin Snips

Flaming Gorge

2010-09-08T08:34:00.000-06:00

Over Labor Day weekend Marshall and I got invited to go to Flaming Gorge with some family and we JUMPED at the opportunity. We left Friday night around 8 and were instructed to stop at the "Mountain Man Rendezvous" in Wyoming at which we would camp. Marshall and I had no idea how much we were about to experience. Marshall and I drove seperately and beat everyone else there but it was pitch black at our arrival. At about 12 we got a call and a hose on Uncle Terry's truck had burst and they were stranded on the side of the freeway in Utah but help was on the way and they were bound and determined to get to us, which they did at about 5 am. So we got rest and some breakfast and headed to the rendezvous. People come from all over for this event yearly and they get IN TO IT!
We forgot our camera back at camp so these are just stock images but you get the idea. There are tons of booths set up of hand made items that are exquisite. And there are several demonstrations throughout the day, such as how to make a fire with 2 sticks. It was a really neat, different experience.After that we headed to the Gorge for some camping FUN! I didn't get in the water because it was FREEZING cold but you know Marshall did.And so graceful might I add.
We had such an amazing time! So glad we got one last trip in before it got too cold!

My handy MEN

2010-08-10T12:21:00.000-06:00

The day we returned from Italy my brothers family was in town from Chicago. I was upstairs with Carter and one of the closet doors in the office came off. I told Carter that we would have to wait for Marshall to come home to fix it. Well, the minute Marsh walked in the door Carter was scrambling to get his tools in his tool box, his safety glasses on and his tool belt on and filled up. Marshall being the sport that he is grabbed his tool belt (although it was not needed at all) and headed up stairs with Carter. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Carter was a great help. When Marshall asked for a screw driver Carter gave him his (toy one). It was adorable! Soon after the two of them went up stairs more help arrived...
Little Austin with his power drill.
It turned out to be a bigger job than we all thought, it took 4 of them to get it right.
Later that day Marshall decided to turn on the hose. I took these pictures from inside to say the least.
Initially Austin filled up the bucket full of water, he then began swishing in onto himself, he then dipped his head in it and finally he just jumped in and sat down. Kids just love water.

Our Late but VERY worth the wait HONEYMOON

2010-08-09T11:15:00.009-06:00

July 15th - We flew from SLC to Paris, France **Sorry no picture**
July 16th - Our first day in France. We arrived in Paris at about noon (Paris time) and our first adventure was figuring out where our hotel was. French people do NOT like Americans so they were not very friendly or helpful. After about an hour of researching we finally found some help and we were on the subway to the hotel. From the subway we had to take a bus so that was another adventure all in its own. But alas, we made it! We quickly changed out of the clothes that we had been flying in for 9 and a half hours, took the other bus, got back on the subway and reached the city.This is our view from our dinner table. And the Eiffel Tower is absolutely ravishing in person.
July 17th - We visited Notre Dame. Again, totally amazing!
We then continued on to Sainte-Chappell where you walk in and it is just an ordinary, not very cool church but you then take this staircase...And you arrive at THIS
The entire top room is stain glass. It blows you away. They are in the process of restoring it so on one side it is clear and ravishing and on the other it looks like this...You can see all of the dust that is collecting. Crazy hu!
July 18th - We went to the Louvre! We had planned on going the night before but we got there too late so we had to get there when it opened so that we could see the main stuff that we wanted to and catch our flight to Rome.The Louve is HUGE! I wish we could have spent an entire day there. The entrance is under the triangle.A few I wouldn't say our favorites but some of the most famous pieces from the Louvre:
The Winged Victoria And of course... The Mona Lisa

Continued...

2010-08-08T12:33:00.036-06:00

July 18th - We flew from Paris, France to Rome, Italy. We arrived a little late with just enough time to take a taxi to our hotel and get a bite to eat for dinner.July 19th - St. Peter's Basicila & The Vatican. Below is Marshall and I in square of Rome.
This was my favorite piece of art that we saw not only on this trip but in my entire life! It is Michaelangelo's Pieta and it is housed in St. Peter's Basicila. I have never felt the way I did when I saw it, it is the most amazing thing on earth! I would go back, just to see it. That is how amazing it is!Inside St. Peter's Basicila.

Then we moved onto the Vatican. It was on of my favorite places that we went. It is floor to ceiling ART! And it is an incredible feeling to be in the Pope's home.

This is the Sistine Chapel. You were not supposed to take pictures but I found that out after I had a few ;o)
Michaelangelo's "The Creation" LOVED IT

July 20th - The Colosseum. If you don't know about the Colosseum click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum. It is so much history.

July 21st - We took a train from Rome, Italy to Florance, Italy. We arrived early so we were able to get a lot done.

"The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli is housed in one of the museums we went to in Florance. That blue streak is a glare from the window :(

Donatello's "Statue of David"

Michaelangelo's "Statue of David" AWESOME! We went through the entire museum and then went back to the Statue of David again before we left, we were just in awe by it.
This was our hotel in Florence.
July 22nd - We took a train from Florence, Italy to Venice, Italy. This first picture is of the Rialto Bridge.
Marshall and I on our Gondola ride. Worth every penny by the way! IT was sooo romantic!

July 23rd - Venice by day

A gondola
The Rialto Bridge

Everything is literally by boat. The only way into the island is by train and it only comes in and out so all transportation in the city is by boat. We saw a garbage boat, a UPS boat (it was brown and yellow), a police boat, the whole 9 yards! Something I think everyone should see before they die. It is like nothing you will ever see again!
St. Mark's Basilica

Our Hotel in Venice
July 24th - We boarded our cruise. These pictures were taken throughout the week.

Of course we have to hit the rock wall

July 25th - Dubrovnik, Croatia

Marshall cliff jumping in Croatia

July 26th - Just a day of sailing
July 27th - Kasudasi, Turkey & Ephesus, Turkey. Another one of our favorite places.
These pictures of of ancient Ephesus. They are restoring the old city.

This is where Emperors used to go to the bathroom.
Gotta love Marshall ;o)
This was the old library. Across the street from the library was a brothel and in the library was a trap door that lead under ground to the brothel. ha ha ha

A lady making a turkish rug. It takes years and the rugs are amazing.
Our cruise ship parked in turkey.

Us in front of Kasudasi, Turkey

Marshall getting a turkish shave. He said he has never had a better shave.

July 27th - Santorini, Greece. The white along the top is the town.

So... in order to get up there you have to take... oh yes... a donkey!
Isn't it beautiful?!?

Swimming on the black rock beach in Santorini. It was a topless beach... we found out the hard way.

July 29th - Cofu, Greece
Hanging out at the beach in Corfu

July 30th - Another day of sailing
July 31st - We arrived back in Venice to come home. We were flying on discounted tickets that my friend that works for Delta got us and Delta had overbooked by so many they were offering $1000 vouchers to people if they would stay in Venice another day. Well, since Marshall and I were already on a discounted ticket we automatically got bumped. So we headed out of the airport to find a hotel. We were on the main land of Venice, not the island so it was kinda sucky. Well, we ran into on of the girls that worked for Delta and was helping us and she offered to put us up for the night. So we went back to her place, had some real Italian pasta and went into the city of Padova. It was way different than all the touristy areas. Well then next day we went to get on the flight again and Rome had a huge delay so the were re-routing people to Venice. Well, there was one seat and Marshall made me take it. That is right... I left my husband in Venice on our honeymoon. He met up with our friend Fredrika and she put him up again and he would try to get out the next day. After 2 more attempts he had still not gotten out of Venice so we booked him a full price ticket and got him home. It is a good thing we have a "travel savings account" so we are ready for these kinds of things.

Anywho... we had an amazing time that we both consider to be life changing. I would not trade that trip for anything. Marshall and I are closer than we have ever been! If we can get through traveling Europe we can get through ANYTHING!

Lake Yuba

2010-08-07T11:07:00.000-06:00

My aunt Michelle's family invited My mom, Marshall and I to lake Yuba last month to go boating. Of course we went and we had a blast! Marshall wake boarded for the first time and he did GREAT! He got up without a tower!
What a handsome bugger!This would be Marshall doing a side flip off of the boat. Marshall grew up with a sail boat so speed boats were new for him and now he is talking about buying one! He loves it!

A Hit!

2010-08-06T11:03:00.000-06:00

The chickens have been a HIT with our nephew Logan. Marshall's brother Nathan seemed to like them just as much though... boys are funny... Oh, and yes, Marshall holds and pets the chickens.

Newest Addition

2010-08-05T10:57:00.001-06:00

I would like to formally introduce everyone to Lequita (the black one) and Watson (the brown one). The newest additions to our household.

Boating

2010-07-06T11:18:00.002-06:00

Marshall and I went boating with our Aunt Vickie and uncle Terry yesterday and it was a riot! Marshall has never been pulled behind a speed boat before on anything and the last time I was had to be at least 12 years ago so it was pretty entertaining. We both learned how to knee board which was way fun. I got up my FIRST try!! Marshall... well... it took him a few more than that ;o) We didn't take our camera so I only got these two shots from my phone. Marshall is the one on the right and our cousin Mason is on the left.

You have GOT to be kidding me?

2010-06-24T11:04:00.002-06:00

What is this, month for the dumb people?

Yesterday Marshall was talking to the office personnel at our apartment and he asked them how they expected the apartment to look when we moved out and if they charged to clean the carpets. The lady said that any repairs they had to do they would just take out of our deposit. He then told her that we didn't have to pay a deposit because of some promotion they were having when we moved in and then the lady said "oh well then you just won't get any money back". Wait a minute.... hu? Um... no duh lady, how would we get money back if we DID NOT pay a deposit?

Seriously, what is going on with people being totally dumb?

2 Thumbs WAY Up!

2010-06-23T15:23:00.002-06:00

Just F.Y.I. - Sarah Mclachlan has a new album out titled "Laws of Illusion" and it is fabulous! I'm diggin' it.

La Chambre Kay (The Kay House)

2010-06-08T10:54:00.010-06:00

That's right, Marshall and I are buying this house! We actually started the paperwork a while ago but things have been so crazy I am just getting around to posting about it. I know the picture sucks but I will have MANY more once we close on June 24th and move in!

We close on our home in:

Have to share...

2010-06-07T14:58:00.000-06:00

Funny story... So, Chris, Ashley, Marshall and myself were at Iggy's last weekend and when the waiter approached our table I asked him what the difference in the regular salad was compared to the half salad. He sat there and thought about it for a minute or two and then, as serious as could be he said, and I quote "Um... I would say it's about half the size". The four of us just look at one another dumb founded then Ashley says "ha ha, half the size" and the waiter still didn't get it! Seriously, how does that help me out at all! I was so flabbergasted that I just said I would take the regular and we could not let it go the entire meal. In fact, Chris couldn't let it go the entire weekend. Everyone we talked to he told the story to and I would say that was at least 6! Ha ha... some people. But hey this is good news to anyone that is planning to use drugs and fry every last brain cell out of their head because you always know that you can still get a job at Iggy's!

Pictures from the race

2010-05-10T09:46:00.003-06:00

The search is OVER

2010-05-05T08:53:00.002-06:00

Marshall and I are going to pick these bad boys up tomorrow!
So get this... These are regular $750 each, on sale at RC Willey for $550 each. Perfect! But you have to buy a $20 kit to go with the dryer, new plugs or something stupid. Well... if you buy them in the pair you get an extra $100 off. So after tax we were looking at $1,150.00, just over our budget. Well... since they are energy efficient there is a $75 mail-in-rebate on each one, making our grand total....$1000!!! PERFECT! It's like it was meant to be ;o)

And just because I am so excited to finally have a decent washer and dryer I will share the specs... They have a soap and softener automatic dispenser built in, so all I do is load it with a bunch of costco soap and it will indicate when it is running low other than that it puts the soap in for me with each load ;o), it is extra large capacity so we can fit our jumbo comforter in it with no problem at all, it is super quite, got 4.5 out of 5 stars on all the reviews we can find on line, the doors open opposite of each other for easy laundry transfer, energy efficient, the viewers said they saved an average of $150 per year on electricity alone and it saves on water as well because of the cycles it has it doesn't take very much to get the clothes super clean and fresh and they have a gagillian settings so I am sure we can find one that will suit our needs just fine!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

2010-05-05T08:33:00.005-06:00

Marshall took me to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point this last weekend.
And...
we...
took...
lots...
of...
pictures...
of...TULIPS!!!

Suggestions

2010-05-03T09:50:00.002-06:00

Marshall and I are in the market for a new washer and dryer. Since I have been using ones that have been provided to me for the past 2 years I am NOT willing to go cheap on these new ones. We would like to keep the cost around $1000 for a pair and we are particularly interested in the energy efficient ones that have a bigger capacity so that I don't have to do a million loads. Does anyone have the new front loaders? If so, do you like it and even recommend it? Any other suggestions? Brands... good and bad, size, special functions I should look for???

Good bye wedding dress

2010-05-03T09:47:00.002-06:00

It's official... I sold my wedding dress! I always planned on doing it and I knew that since I bought such an amazing dress that had to be special ordered that someone would want it, and I was right! I thought it would be weird but after seeing it just sit in my closet for 3 months I don't have one bit of anxiety over it. And in the end it cost me about $350 to wear the dress of my dreams that I originally paid over $1000 for! What a deal!

Destination... THE TOP!

2010-04-28T09:49:00.006-06:00

The first time I went rock climbing with Marshall I made it about a third of the way up and I WANTED DOWN! Well, we went out again the other day and I was determined to make it to the top, and I did! We only had the big lens on our camera so it took sort of close ups, but the climb was about 30 feet I would say, so a far enough distance from the ground that my legs were shaking in fear but what a sense of accomplishment. Marshall and I were so proud of me!Beginning the ascent...
A sense of relief from the top, now get me down from here!
Marshall top roping the climb.

Joggin' for Jugs!

2010-04-15T12:52:00.005-06:00

My friend Carrie, my mom and I are running in the Susan G. Komen race for a cure 5K on May 8th and we need your help! Check out our team at http://www.komenslc.org/team/bettyjane. Wish us luck!

Weekend Getaway!

2010-03-08T08:38:00.005-07:00

Marshall is the coach for a high school lacrosse team. Well, this weekend they had a game in St. George so Marshall and I decided to make a trip of it! We drove down Friday after work, got there kinda late so just hung out and after his game Saturday we had some adventures. We hiked to turtle rock and were going to do some rock climbing but we forgot my harness in the car so we just did some light hiking and hung out in the awesome weather!

We bought a new camera and this is really the first time we have used it so we were messing around with the settings. Clearly we picked the wrong one because the sky was very blue and in the pictures it is pure white... oh well, we will know not to pick that one next time!

The last visit

2010-03-08T08:32:00.005-07:00

Just a few pictures from my nephews last visit...

Carter got so many laughs when he did it that Austin had to get in on it!

We went sledding and the boys did a little skiing while Marshall was at work. We had a very cold, but great time!
Gosh I miss them...

January 18, 2010

2010-02-05T14:35:00.011-07:00

Matt & Carrie

Chris & GabbyThey say that the best part of a wedding is the look on the grooms face the instant he sees his bride walking down the aisle. From this picture I would say we have a pretty promising future!
My Dad & I
I think some of the candid pictures are truly the best. You can totally see the complete happiness in both Marshall and I's faces.

Absolutely love this picture! So genuinely happy and excited.
One of my favs.

The whole chi-bang.
I am sorry if people have a problem with me putting picture of their children on my blog, my suggestion to you would be don't have such freaking cute kids!
Coping with pre-wedding gitters.
Austin, looking cute as ever.
Probably my favorite bridal picture. Its tough because I love so many but this one is definitely up there.

Carter, Austin and yours truly.
I LOVE this picture. They look like the mafia and Marshall resembles nothing other than the cocky mob boss. Love it!
Marshall & I with all 5 of our nephews! Extremely hard to get this picture but well worth it!

The wedding party.

Our first dance as husband and wife. We danced to "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton. It has been "our song" since 2007 and it just wouldn't be right to dance to anything else.
Wow. What a magical day! The photographer took over 1,000 pictures so I am not exaggerating when I say that this is just a taste. My previous roommate made me a scrapbook for the wedding and I will have plenty more pictures in that! I got so many compliments about my day that I am so glad I planned it the way I did. No regrets!

People ask me if I would do things different and I have thought about it and honestly I would say the day was 99% perfect and exactly what I imagined it would be. However, there are 3 things I would change:
1. I would not take one bridal, wedding picture, engagement picture or make any final details without my sister-in-law. She made things PERFECT! I am so lucky my brother has a brain in his head and picked her.
2. I would have taken containers to take home any left over soup. It was delicious in my opinion! Marshall and I have talked about it several times since and totally regret not thinking of it! And I am not kidding.
3. I would have listened to my gut. I wanted to do one thing a certain way and I let others talk me into doing it another way and when I look back I would have gone with my original plan, regardless of feelings being hurt.

With that said, I think that some of the way more important aspects, all of which went perfectly, overshadow these three things 10 fold. Must give credit where credit is due. Thanks to:

1. My 2 cousins, Kryshelle & Brykelle for making my hair EXACTLY how I wanted it. We did at least 3 practices over the past year to perfect it and I must say, Mission accomplished.

2. The photographer for capturing EVERYTHING and doing such a great job and it and being affordable ;o)

3. The florist. I just described what I wanted, no pictures or anything and she hit the nail right on the head.

4. The baker for delivering all the way from Heber and spending extra time making it perfect and delicious.

5. My mom for all her had work. She even bought adorable red shoes that every time I saw and still see in the pictures I get a huge grin. And, the cherry on top was the boys' vests, they looked so handsome. My mom made those as well. She truly is incredible!

6. My uncle Cal for preforming the ceremony (he has been Bishop of the LDS church for 4 months and this was his first wedding. Talk about pressure). He also blessed me when I was born so I found this aspect of the wedding specifically special. My aunt Sue helped a lot as well, she was running around every time I looked over.

7. We really really appreciated the very generous donations to help pay for our special day.

Okay, I am not finished and I just realized that I have nothing to complain about at ALL. I have such wonderful people in my life and it wouldn't have been so smooth without them. If I didn't mention someone specifically it is because I just have to many. What a great thing to be able to say. But it was unfortunate that people thought they had the right to complain, yes, it is true, we had a few complainers and all I can say shame on you.

Oh, One more thing... I love my bridal pictures, and I am glad that I got them because of the whole cap/winter theme but I will admit that the natural glow and smile you have on your actual wedding day make the pictures gorgeous! I still think I would do bridals and recommend getting them done, all I am saying is I can totally tell a difference in my face about what is actually going on.

Just a few of my favorites

2010-01-12T09:24:00.013-07:00

And people wondered why I wanted a winter wedding...And then I couldn't feel my fingers anymore so we had to take our party inside.

I have been told that I look like an ice princess and a snow goddess, both names I am more than willing to accept!

The Kids LOVE Mr. Kay

2009-12-22T08:28:00.002-07:00

Marshall's students spoiled him this Christmas. Our counter & table are covered in goodies that his students brought for him. He also got this stunning tie, a coffee mug and several gift cards. And he thought he was the mean teacher... pshaw...

Our Gingerbread House

2009-12-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Marshall's family got together to celebrate Marshall's birthday and to make gingerbread houses. Here is how ours turned out.
The front. On our left we have a snowman and on the right we have a guy (with yellow buttons) that was putting up decorations and fell off the roof.
The back. Very snowy bushes and a roof dripping with snow. So clever.
My favorite part is the man on the roof putting up the lights and he is only half way done. Marshall's genius idea!

4 Years to the Day

2009-12-14T20:07:00.005-07:00

August 2006

That's right, 4 years ago today Marshall and I had our first date! We saw the Chronicles of Narnia at the Provo mall theater and I gave Marshall some chocolate and he left it in the pocket of his shirt and it melted. Nothing like making a good first impression! Actually, with our upcoming nuptials, this would be a good time to tell our story... I met Marshall in June of 2005 when he came into the hotel that I worked at and asked for an application. He told me that he knew that day that if he was ever going to get married it would be to a girl like me. Anywho... Marshall didn't get hired until September and at that time I was dating someone so we just remained acquaintances. In November my relationship ended and I finally "noticed" Marshall. He came in to get his paycheck and he looked SO handsome! I will never forget, a few girls I worked with and myself were in my office and he came in, we all got silent and the minute he left we all picked our jaws off the floor and started giggling like we were 5. I will just say he made a great impression and from that day on we started talking a little more. He told me how he was new to Provo (from NY) and he was taking a humanities class next semester and he was going to have to go to a lot of plays and ballets and such and maybe I could go with him sometime. I didn't think anything of it. Well, I left the hotel mid-December and as I was leaving for some reason I decided to stay and talk to Marshall. We got talking about the Chronicles of Narnia and I was saying how much I loved it and wanted to see it an he said he did to so we decided to go, and that we did, December 14, 2005. I found out later he has never read the books, it was a total lie, he was just getting me to go out with him.

Marshall and I hung out from December to July and he was one of my favorite people. We went to plays, symphonies, ballets, musicals, concerts, movies, you name it! I thought we were just friends the whole time and we would go out with other, it was never awkward. I just thought since he was new in town he needed friends and I was one of them. (I later found out that he was into me the whole time and he just has an incredible amount of patience).

Late June Marshall invited me to a Gregory Isaacs concert. At the last minute I decided to go and that was a night that changed my life forever. Nothing was different, but mid-concert I remember thinking "I wish Marshall would hold my hand or something" and I kid you not, maybe 2 minutes later he grabbed me around the waist. We had a super good time but I knew things were about to change. That night we stayed at a friends house because Marshall was leaving for N.Y. the next day for his fathers wedding. It was super late so instead of driving home Marshall made me a bed on the floor and he slept on the couch. I remember waking up and his arm hanging off and being on my back and I just smiled. While Marshall was gone it SUCKED. I just wanted to hang out with him so badly, I finally broke down and called him just for the heck of it (he says he knew that second that he had me). The day Marshall came back things were different. We were more flirty, I finally realized that we were not going to just be friends and it was GREAT!

July 4th we had our first kiss and things were starting to get serious. Just in time for me to leave for 2 weeks. I went to NY for a week with my girlfriend and then to Chicago for a week, i had a great time but I would be lying if I said that I didn't miss and think about Marshall A LOT! A couple days after I got back from my trip we went to my friend Kathy's wedding. And on the way we had a DTR (define the relationship). And from that day on we have been together. We have been through tons together and with all the arguments, disagreements, life changes, ups, downs, family issues and personality changes we have chosen to stick by each others side! That says something if you ask me. Through the years we have gotten tons of advice and one of the best pieces we got was someone telling us to marry someone you can fall in love with at least 5 times because people change. I can say that I have fallen in love with Marsh twice now. He is not the same person that I met but don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. The changes he as made are for the better and maybe I have just fallen more in love with him instead of re-falling in love with him. He is truly my best friend in the entire world and I am cannot wait to be his wife in 34 days!!

Shower Invites

2009-12-09T14:41:00.003-07:00

My friends Amandah and Carrie are throwing me a "friend" bridal shower in a couple of weeks and they sent me a picture of the invites and I though I would share since I think they turned out freaking adorable! Yay for 39 more days!!

Hmmm.... Something looks a little fishy...

2009-11-12T15:21:00.006-07:00

Marshall says he is not a "kid person"...

But I just don't know if I believe him!!!

Newest Addition

2009-11-02T12:13:00.003-07:00

So I have decided that I need to do something besides go to work, school and study. The only problem is that it needed to be inexpensive because money is tight right now. So being the brilliant mind that I am, I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and I will make a decorations for my house. One project per month, one addition to our home each month and one hobby to free my mind of my craziness called life. I love making things anyways. It is so gratifying to have just supplies and then end with an amazing one of a kind finished product. Since I just decided that this would be a good escape I didn't have much time for the October project so this is what I came up with.A red berry wreath to go in my red, black & White bathroom. Marshall even admitted that it added a nice touch. Total cost:$7.00. Not bad.

Tender

2009-10-29T08:27:00.003-06:00

My old roommate came over last night with her new baby. While KiaLee and I caught up Marshall watched (and offered to watch) new little KayLynn. I love seeing these manly men holding a ball of purple, flowery, bow covered babyness. So cute! It was way good to see KiaLee too, it makes me remember all the good times we had and how GREAT of a roommate she was. I can't wait to be done with school so I can plan more time to spend with friends and family that I hardly ever get to see anymore.

PS. I can't help but notice, and point out, that Marshall's hair resembles Mr. T in this picture. hahaha

Long awaited...

2009-10-26T13:44:00.004-06:00

For those of you that do not know, I collect thimbles. Yes, that is right, I am 25 not 80 and I collect thimbles. My mom started me on it when I was young and when friends and family caught onto the idea they would bring them back from anywhere they went. Originally it was only supposed to be places I had been but hey, the more the merrier.
I had them stashed away in drawers and I had so many that I started looking at cases. I showed this one to Marshall and he got it for me for Christmas, only he NEVER makes me wait until Christmas so of course I stocked it the minute it came! It holds 68 and I have another 20 or so in the other room. I have a lot of doubles though. The only states that I am missing are: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi & North Dakota (pretty much all places that I will never go). Some of the countries that I have are China (bottom left), Jamaica, Finland, & Ecuador. My BROTHER (that is bold so that my sister-in-law will see it and give him a hard time) that went to Russia for 2 years claims that he couldn't find them so he brought back (among a ton of other stuff) the Russian stacking doll (third from the left) and considering I will probably never go to Russia it will have to do. I also have a hand painted one from my mom, one that my great grandmother used to use and has since passed away, the 4 corners and one from when the Olympics came to Utah. Hopefully Marshall and I will go somewhere super cool for our honeymoon so that I can get some more! Its addicting! Don't make fun because you are jealous.

nuestra casa

2009-10-26T13:23:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pics of our (sort of) new house. It is a work in progress...

el dormitorio principal (The master bedroom)

la zona de baño principal (the master bathroom area)

el baño principal (the master bath)

This is the walkway between the master room and the master bathroom. On the right side is the sink area (pictured above) and on the left is the master closet (pictured next)el armario del dormitorio principal (the master closet). This is only about a third of our clothes... we fill up the entire guest bedroom closet, the 4 drawers under the guest bed and both of our nightstands are full of clothes as well. Don't worry folks, we will not be going around naked for a while ;o)
el dormitorio de huéspedes (the guest bedroom)
My not-so-happy helper...
More pictures to come...

And, I don't know why I wrote them all in Spanish first. I wasn't going to translate but then you would have no idea what I was talking about so being the nice person that I am, I clarified for you. And no, I do not know Spanish. I translated it all on line. Thank you very much.

Its about that time...

2009-10-06T16:13:00.011-06:00

Here are a few of our favorite engagement pictures. We have TONS more but since I can't add them all I thought I would just put the few that I had with me that I liked. Enjoy.

I am not quite sure why the resolution is so screwy when I upload them but you get the gist.

Just want to share

2009-09-28T11:19:00.003-06:00

It is easy to forget how much someone means to you or helps you when they make you upset so I think the reason I am posting about this is so that I can refer back to it when I get frustrated with Marshall...

This weekend...
On Friday night I found some nightstands that I wanted and have been looking for for about 2 months. Marshall and I went and picked them up late with no time to do anything to them. I got the project of refinishing them going Saturday afternoon when I decided to take a break from studying. Marshall got home around 4 from Lacrosse practice and he immediately started helping me with the task that I took on. After about an hour he took it upon himself to go and get us some dinner and he only had one drink cup in his car so he brought me a diet coke and got nothing for himself to drink. We were up until 2 doing these blasted things and we still were not finished.

Sunday morning when I got up I found him on the deck finishing painting the last coat on the nightstand. It needed one more coat of black, varnish, holes drilled and the hardwear put on. When he was finished he came in and started helping me clean. When i got done with the back side of the house he had the kitchen and living room done and all the furniture moved so I could vacuum.

Immediately after finishing cleaning I had to go to a study group. I got home around 5 to find the nightstand complete and put where it goes, all of the laundry done (at least 4 loads), including folded and put away, he had ironed the work close from the laundry, including mine and he had dinner almost ready. My favorite part is that I didn't ask him to do these things, he just does it and doesn't say anything to get recognition.

Even writing this post makes me teary. There is no possible way that I could get everything done around the house and still have time to study for my classes and I don't know what I would do without him. Not only does he keep my spirits up but he makes me laugh all the time, he makes light of a crappy situations, always encourages and pushes me and he helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel. My classes this semester are by far the hardest classes I have ever taken and they require extreme amounts of time. Not only that but I am right in the heart of wedding plans on top of everything else.

Marshall, you are my superhero, my sanity, my entertainment and my best friend! I love you so much!! In case I forget to tell you sometimes, thank you for all you do for me. I promise it does not go unrecognized and one day I hope that I can be as good of a companion to you as you are to me.

The latest

2009-09-27T19:51:00.003-06:00

This was our weekend project...

BeforeAfter

We are slowly trying to get the furniture we need for the apartment but doing it in the most cost efficient way as possible. We found these great, solid wood nightstands on KSL for $50, paid $16 for new hardware and about $10 on paint and supplies. A nice wood nightstand usually runs around $200 and we got BOTH of these for about $75!!!! And it is always fun to do stuff like this with Marshall until 2 in the morning... you talk about some really random stuff at that hour...

My name is Jennifer and I'm a polishaholic!

2009-09-17T08:23:00.003-06:00

Ladies and gentleman, the first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem so here it goes... Marshall pointed this out a couple years ago and I didn't think anything of it until yesterday. I was at Walgreens getting some chapstick (it was an emergency ;o)) and I was in a major hurry but no matter how fast I needed to move I could not help looking at the fingernail polish!! Every time I go into a store I MUST look at the, and sometimes buy, fingernail polish! I even do it at grocery stores, its that bad! When I am with Marshall I make it a very smooth transaction so he doesn't know that is what I am doing, I totally rubberneck the aisle and just stare as hard as I can at all the wonderful shades of colors that I most likely already have! My real problems are when I go to Rite-Aid or Walgreens though because I buy at least one EVERYTIME! For instance... yesterday, I bought a new top coat that supposedly dries super fast and is super shiny. How many clear top coats does a girl need??? I tried it at the red light on my thumb and about 2 minutes later when I was back at work, It was totally dry! I was proud of my purchase at this point! I will try and post a picture of my collection later, I just wanted to get this off my chest. About 2 months ago I went through all my colors and gave all my duplicates or colors that I don't wear anymore to on of my friends and my bag is still bulging and wont shut :( Oh my horrible, troubled life... why me?!?

Cheese Nips NOT Cheez-Its

2009-09-16T14:49:00.005-06:00

So... last month at the grocery store on a random whim Marshall and I picked up some delightful cheesy crackers because they were on sale. I had forgotten how much I love the little delights until I divulged. Well, this month at the grocery store I thought that since I loved them so much I would get another box. Well, I pulled them out at work today and after eating just one I realized that this was not the same delicious snack cracker that I had the month before. I thought about it for a while and the only logical reason for this taste discrepancy would be that last month I must have bought Cheese Nips and this month I bought Cheez-Its thinking they were what I bought last month. If these people could get creative with there names this sort of catastrophe would not happen! Moral of the story... Cheese NIPS=GOOD, Cheez-ITS=NOT SO MUCH

Down with the bean game!!!!

2009-09-11T10:28:00.005-06:00

My brother's family got me "the bean game" for my birthday last month and I have played it more than any other game EVER! Marshall absolutely LOVES it! Every night we play at least one round (he always wins, that may have something to do with why he always wants to play), whenever we go somewhere he makes me take it with us and now he is asking our friends if they have played and if they want to play! Last weekend we were going to drop some stuff off at my mothers and she texted me to bring it down, but of course Marshall already had it in the car, so we played it with my mom and grandma and it was a riot! It is seriously a super fun game and it is addicting but for crying out loud Marshall, we need a new game!!!! Mix it up a little or something!!!

Just New

2009-08-20T10:49:00.004-06:00

So we are trying to make our house more like a home but since we wont be living there forever we don't want to put a ton of money into it so we are trying to improvise. For instance, i made these fabulous curtains for the guest room...

(they are sage green and plum purple... you can't really see the colors very well in this picture)

I just wanted to post this because it was so cute. I got home last night to find my cute little teacher grading papers of his middle school students in the living room. I don't know why but I just think it is adorable!!

The Bishop's Dinner for The Cathedral of the Madeleine

2009-08-17T14:19:00.005-06:00

Marshall & I got the opportunity to go to a galla for the Catholic Church this Saturday. Since he is the new guy at a Catholic school they extended him the invitation. It was $1,500 for a table (luckily his school flipped the bill ;o)) It was an experience. When Marshall asked what the dress code was the principle of his school told him to wear the nicest thing he owned because there were going to be furs and diamonds and she was not joking! When we got to the hotel security was EVERYWHERE! Apparently the gentleman that spoke was VERY high up in the church. It was really amazing. We walked out to have a little socialite in the garden with ushers wandering around with wine trays, just like you see in the movies!!! Then we went into a very elaborate, very large room in the hotel and listened to a talk while we ate an excellent dinner. After the speech there was a band and a dance floor and if I do say so myself, we cut some serious rug! It was a great experience. I wish we could have taken more pictures but I thought that may be a tad inappropriate ;o) So these were before we left. WOW-E we looked smokin'!!! (Sorry about the glare at the bottom... that's whfat happens when you take your own pictures with the timer i guess)

I though it he said it

2009-08-13T15:44:00.004-06:00

"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular. It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre."

Uta Hagen

Weekend Excitement!!

2009-08-10T10:14:00.003-06:00

Tiffany, me & Ashley
Just the beginning...
This weekend we decided to go down to Zion and hike The Narrows. The Narrows is basically a huge path way between the sandstone. The width varies but I think the narrowest it got was about 10 feet. The catch is that it is a river. They say that the depth is usually about ankle to knee deep but lucky for us in some areas it was above our WAIST! It was seriously a lot of fun though. We hiked up for a few hours then came back down when it started to get chilly and the sun was starting to set.

On a bad note... Our credit card got stolen Friday! The bank called because there was some suspicious activity... um yeah, like hundreds of dollars to Toys R' Us... they will obviously refund us the money but it us a huge hassle and totally scary at the same time. They got away with a little over $700. Why don't places check I.D. anymore? Seriously!!!!

The Big Move...

2009-07-27T08:53:00.003-06:00

Our new place (better pictures to come)
Our kitchen table

Our new couch that Marshall is in love with!

So.. Marshall and I were kind of between a rock and a hard place when it came to our living situation. He starts his new job in Bountiful in August and I start at the U in August but I am keeping my job in Orem for now so when we got married we needed to find a place in the middle. Well, Marshall's contract for his housing ended in May and he moved into his mothers house for the summer and then he was going to stay with some friends of ours until November (when my lease was up). I have been having some serious problems with my land lord and I decided that I had to move out. I could not find anything that was month to month (because it would be stupid to sign another year and have to figure out a way to get out of it in January). So anywho... after some deep convos and some serious thought we decided to start looking and see what we could find if we moved in together now. Well, the first place we went to ended up being amazing and we decided to take it! We move in this week and we are both super excited! We have been sanding and staining furniture to match and just make this place look jazzy! We also made a list of things that we need because neither of us really have anything that it takes to make a home. We made a budget and have slowly been getting pieces for the house. These are a few of the items we have chosen. I will post pictures of the finished product and the furniture we re-did later.